BOULDER — Colorado women’s soccer coach Danny Sanchez might have been a bit surprised, pleasantly surprised, that his team reached the NCAA Tournament last fall — in his third season.

Of course, he’ll take it. But that means the bar has been raised regarding expectations for the program, he added.

“I think last year we jumped ahead a little faster than we thought we would be,” Sanchez said. “To be honest, we were probably one of the last teams to get into the NCAA Tournament. But we can build on that.”

Colorado finished 14-7-2 in 2013, including 4-5-2 in the challenging Pac-12 Conference. The Buffaloes return 18 letterwinners, including seven starters.

CU pulled upsets of ranked teams in the opening teams in the NCAA Tournament, defeating No. 15 Denver 1-0 and No. 19 BYU 2-1. The Buffs were then eliminated 4-0 by No. 3 Florida State in the Sweet 16.

“I’m pleased with where we’re at,” Sanchez said. “I’m pleased with the support we get. I’m pleased with where we’re at right now. But the bar has been raised. We need to reload.”

CU players say they feel the heightened expectations. And that’s OK.

“(The game against) Florida State was pretty brutal,” sophomore forward Brie Hooks said. “But we learned from that. This has been our toughest (preseason) camp.”

Colorado opens with an Aug. 22 home match against Colorado State, a fledgling program in its second year and coached by former CU coach Bill Hempen. That match will count toward the Colorado Cup which awards a trophy to the winner of the in-state competition involving the six Division I programs.

Comments Off on Colorado women’s soccer coach: “The bar has been raised” for the program

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.